Worked for a ‘Maverick’ CEO in London—Got a Bonus in Month 1, Fired in Month 2. Is This Normal?

I thought I had landed a dream opportunity —working directly under a high-profile CEO who built a billion-dollar brand off the back of bold marketing, cult-like fan loyalty, and a ‘disruptor’ image. He’s one of the most well-known founders in the UK, constantly in the press, and seems desperate to position himself as the UK’s answer to Elon Musk. He’s written books, been on TV, and loves to talk about how he broke all the rules to build his empire.

But inside the company? Different story.

I was in a junior role in his new venture, working 20 hours a week while still finishing university. First month, I got a performance bonus. Second month, I was let go—along with the entire founding tech team. The reason? A single email that got stuck in my drafts.

Here’s the kicker—it was an email he had personally asked for, where I was supposed to share key insights from my dissertation that could help his business. By the time I realized it hadn’t sent, a week had passed. That was apparently enough to question my entire work ethic and justify letting me go.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how disorganized everything was from the start. There were no clear OKRs set from the get-go, no structured feedback—just chaos. Everything was run haphazardly with the excuse that it’s a startup. The tech team members were constantly frustrated with his non-technical background and his obsessive focus on the product, instead of creating a strategy or infrastructure to actually support them. By the way, it’s been 2 years, and he’s still trying to get his MVP in place.

At first, I blamed myself, but looking back, I realize how little support existed to actually succeed in that environment.

This got me thinking: • Is this just startup culture, or is this a pattern with ‘celebrity entrepreneurs’? • Anyone else worked for a ‘business guru’ and seen behind the curtain? • What’s the biggest red flag you’ve encountered in a job?

Would love to hear your thoughts.